The Unbelievable World of Snowflakes (Slideshow)

"Snow crystals," Ukichiro Nakaya wrote in 1939, "may be called letters sent from heaven." The Japanese physicist was one of a long line of scientists and scholars, philosophers and writers, who studied and mused on snowflakes.

Whether you use a single word, or a thousand, to describe snow, it's easy to see why these beautiful crystals have garnered so much adoration.